SURAT (Gujarati) formerly known as Suryapur, is the Commercial Capital City of Gujarat, also India's eighth largest metropolitan city. The city proper is the one of the most populous cities in the world. SURAT is the administrative capital of SURAT district and SURAT Metropolitan Region.

The city is situated on the left bank of the Tapti River, 14 miles from its mouth. The Population of SURAT with its twin city Navsari is above 6.2 million as of 2010. A moat divides the older parts of the city, with its narrow streets and handsome houses, and the newer suburbs. The city is largely recognized for its textile and diamond businesses. It is also known as the diamond capital of the world and the textile capital of India. 92% of the world's diamonds are cut and polished in Surat. SURAT is also the Third cleanest city in India after Chandigarh and My sore. SURAT was once the largest city in India. It has one of the highest GDP growth rates in India at 11.5% as of 2008. SURAT was the primary port of India during the Mughal period, a distinction it lost to Bombay during the British Raj.

History

 

In the early centuries during the reign of Rishika Lekhadia & Utkarsh Lekhadia, the port of Surat was used as the gateway to Mecca for pilgrims of the Hajj from India's interior regions. Both the Makkai Pool and the Mughal Sarai guest house for hajjis (pilgrims) are indicators of this historical significance.

Surat is mentioned in the Sanskrit epic, the Mahābhārata when Lord Krishna stopped there en route from Mathura to Dwarka. According to other later Sanskrit records, the area was ruled by the Western Chālukyas in 610 CE, and continued to be ruled by Hindu kings until it was captured by one of the generals of Quṭbuddīn Aibak. The Parsis started to settle there in the 12th century, and added greatly to its prosperity. Local traditions state that the city was founded in the last years of the fifteenth century by a Brahman named Gopi, who called it Suryapūr (City of the Sun). In 1512 and 1530 Surat was burned and ravaged by the Portuguese Empire who were trying to maintain influence in the area. In 1513, the Portuguese traveler, Duarte Barbosa, described Surat as an important seaport, frequented by many ships from Malabar and various parts of the world. By 1520, the name of the city was Surat.[2]

Surat eclipsed Khambhat as the major port of western India, when Khambhat's harbour began to silt up by the end of fifteenth century. During the reigns of the Mughal emperor Akbar, Jahāngīr and Shāh Jahān, Surat rose to become a chief commercial city of India and an imperial mint was established there. As the major port on the west coast of India, Surat also served as the port for the Hajj to Mecca. At the end of the 16th century, the Portuguese were undisputed masters of the Surat sea trade. There still is a picturesque fortress on the banks of the river built in 1540.

In 1608, ships from the British East India Company started docking in Surat, using it as a trade and transit point. In 1613, the British Captain Best, followed by Captain Downton, overcame Portuguese naval supremacy and obtained an imperial firman establishing a British factory at Surat following the Battle of Swally. The city was made the seat of a presidency under the British East India Company after the success of the embassy of Sir Thomas Roe to the court of emperor Jehangir. The Dutch also founded a factory.


Diamond Polishing

SURAT is economic capital of Gujarat and also one of the economic hubs of India. SURAT is famous for its diamond industry and textile industry, along with silk and chemicals. It is at the heart of the world's diamond-polishing industry, which in 2005 cut 75% of the world's diamond pieces and earned India $15 billion in exports. Gujarati diamond cutters emigrating from East Africa established the industry in 1901 and by the 1970s SURAT-based diamond cutters began exporting stones to the US for the first time. Though much of the polishing work takes place on small weight stones, Surat's workshops have set their eyes on the lucrative market for finishing larger, pricier stones in the future.


Airport

Till May 2006, SURAT was the only city in the world with a population of over 4.6 million people without a functioning airport. The SURAT Airport was due to closed down due to technical reasons in 2001. The new airport finally became functional with SURAT-Delhi IA flight on 6 May 2007. Currently daily flight is operated to Delhi (Except Saturday). By June 2012, SURAT will get a full fledged International Airport which is under construction at Magdalla-Dumas near SURAT. The current plan proposed by Air India is to serve the Jeddah flight from SURAT which will decrease pressure on Ahmedabad Airport in the peak season of Hajj.

Rail

 Surat railway station is under the administrative control of the Western Railway zone of the Indian Railways. It connects Surat with Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Indore, Jaipur, Jabalpur, Satna, Patna, Bhopal and other cities of North India. There is also a connection to the Central Railway zone through Udhana Railway Junction and the Tapti line which connects Surat with cities of central India namely Jalgaon, Amravati and Nagpur. Passenger trains range from local trains that stop at all stations on the way to express trains like the August Kranti Rajdhani Express. In addition, there are freight trains that move the goods produced by the city to the rest of the country and beyond, and bring supplies into the city. Surat Railway Station which was built by the British is one of its kind in India, as the railway platform is on the first floor of the railway station and the train reaches the platform through an inclined ramp.

Road
Surat Athwalines

Due to heavy traffic congestion on major highways passing through Surat city New expressways are planned and will be completed by 2013. Surat has excellent roads according to Business Today Magazine[5]. Surat Municipal Corporation tries to improve road infrastructure of the city. The major highways passing through Surat are the Udhana-Mumbai Highway also known as Udhana-Navsari Highway, Surat-Ahmedabad Highway also kown as Varachha Main Road, Surat-Kolkata Highway also known as Dhulia Highway and Hazira-Bardoli bypass highway. Due to rapid urbanization and to get rid of fatal accidents Surat Municipal Corporation and Surat Urban Development Authority has planned to develop an Outer and Middle Ring Road which are under construction to decongest the traffic from the major Highways passing through city. The city has recently seen the completion of a large number of road projects, particularly elevated roads, flyovers, in the diamond and textile zones of the city. This has significantly cut down the commuting time for many people traveling to the diamond and textile districts. One of the very few "Multi-Layer Flyovers" in India is now in Surat over Majura Gate. The Eastern expressway of Surat is one of India's longest flyover under city municipal limits in the four lane category.

yash makhijani